Armand Amini 9-25-12 #4 Title, Author, Reason for Choosing the Book
For this quarter I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, because I had seen the movie The Hunger Games, and thought the sequel would be interesting to read.
Genre This book fits under the genre of young adult fiction. This is, because the main audience is young adults and the book is about a different world then ours. This book also fits under the genre of a thriller, because it keeps you reading, and at no point of the book are you bored. Essentially this book keeps you on your toes. This could fall under the genre of science fiction, because some of this book is based around places and technologies that could be made in the future, but at this point are not. This may fall under the genre of futuristic, because they use many technologies that have not been present in the world yet. To some it could be in the genre of fiction, because for many readers you cannot pinpoint one genre, so people put it under a larger one. Next, this novel can be put under the genre of fantasy, because this is a world that does not exist, but the author makes this world up and you follow these characters through their adventures in this fantasy world. Lastly, this book can fall under the genre of mystery, because you do not know what will happen next, and there is a very mysterious part of the book.
Plot
The novel begins with Katniss on the tour, that all victors make after winning the Hunger Games, all around the world of Panem. The Games are where two children, one boy and one girl, from each district, twelve in total, are put into an arena to battle to the death. There is usually one winner but Katniss and Peeta did not want to kill one another because they loved each other. They then tried to kill themselves at the same time by eating poisonous berries, but right before that was about to happen the Gamekeeper said that they had won. Each year after the victor has won, in this case victors, they tour around the districts and even to the Capitol, where the inhabitants of each celebrate them. Katniss gets a visit by president Snow, an evil man trying to keep order in his world, and tells her that rebellions have started against the Capitol. He tells her that this is because her and Peeta are really not in love and some people are catching on. He tells her she has to sell it or else, there will be consequences and she accepts. She goes through the tour but it only causes more trouble. She tries to make up for it by marrying Peeta, but this is too little too late. President Snow says this has not worked and there will be uprisings and rebellions. She is sent home, and considers what she should do. She firsts decides that she should run away, but this is a stupid idea, she realizes, and there will be more consequences than rewards. He then thinks about a rebellion, but her district is too small. She gets advice about this from Peeta, Haymitch and Gale. Gale is in love with her and she was too, but is now trying to figure out who she loves, Peeta or Gale. She was faking her love for Peeta in the Games, but had really grown fond of him. She has loved Gale from the beginning and this love triangle develops throughout the novel. She then is watching television one night and sees that President Snow is on. He says that because of the Quarter Quell, this happens once every 25 years in the Games, victors will be chosen from each district to compete. She realizes that she is the only girl and that she is destined for the arena. Peeta volunteers to go with her and he does. While training they become fond of their competitors, and some of them are Haymitch’s, their mentor’s, friends. They decide though, that they will be an alliance by themselves. When she arrives in the arena she sees there is a beach and water around them, and all of the weapons are on the beach. The buzzer goes off, she swims, and gets there finding her weapon of choice, bow and arrows. She then spots Finnick, a winner a young man that used his charm, good looks, and trident, his weapon of choice, to win in the Games before. They make an alliance and meet up with Peeta, and an old lady rom Finnick’s district, Mags, who has a knack for making fishhooks. They then spot a fog of acid coming after them and they sprint but Mags is too much for Finnick to handle, because he is carrying Peeta too, so she commits suicide and runs into the acid. They then heal themselves with the salt water, which takes away the acid from your body, and set up camp on the beach. They then encounter Johanna, a young fearless woman, and Beetee and Wiress, an old women and an old man that have a knack for inventions. They team up, but are attacked by the Careers, usually a group of victors from districts 1, 2, and 4. Wiress dies but they kill two of the Careers. They set up a plan to use the electricity that will be transmitted through the tree at noon to shock the two remaining Careers and kill them. This does not work, because the wire has been cut and Katniss is injured. She is too close to where the electricity will hit so she raps around the wire, and shoots it at the force field so the electricity will shock it. What happens to the force field? Does Katniss survive and will she ever see Peeta again? Find out in the exciting novel Catching Fire.
Characters
There are three characters that stand out in this book and those are Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch. These three are the only three victors of District 12 and are popular throughout their world. First, Katniss is a fearless 17-year-old girl who stops at nothing to protect the ones she loves and bring down anyone in her way. She really symbolizes female power, and is a great example of what other women strive to be like. She is brave, clever, and has a hunting instinct like no other. An example of her bravery and fearlessness is on page 178 when she states “If it is Peeta and me in the Games, this time we try to keep him alive.” This shows that her bravery, because her priority is to save Peeta which would mean her own demise. She is the main character of this novel and is essential to the book. Next, Peeta is a strong and caring lover of Katniss. He is in love with her, but to keep both of them alive Katniss faked her love. He did not realize this until after the Games though, but despite that throughout the book he shows his love for Katniss. He is amazing with words and can persuade a crowd with no more than a sentence. His outstanding presence mixed with his word choice is an unbelievable combination that not many people in their world have. His of speaking is expressed by Katniss on page 338 “… He can move a crowd---no, a country---to his side with the turn of a simple sentence.” This was Katniss explaining why Peeta is so valuable, and his talent for speech shows up in the book in numerous instances in the book as well. He is Katniss’ lover, and his role is vital to the novel. Lastly, Haymitch is a drunk, wise, middle-aged man. He has experience that helps Katniss and Peeta throughout the book, but is mostly too drunk to express his wisdom. He himself went through the Games and won, but was the only one in District 12 that had won at the time. He is the mentor for the couple not only for the Games but in life as well. His wisdom shows on page 293 when Katniss states “A spile!” This is when she figures out what Haymitch has sent her and realizes that he would be the only one clever or wise enough to realize that this would be useful. This contraption is used for the extraction of water from trees and essentially saves their lives. If Haymitch did not know to give this to them they would have died of dehydration, which is why he was essential to Peeta and Katniss’ survival. Haymitch saved them many other times, and was not only vital to Peeta and Katniss, but the book in general. This is, because without him, the couple would not survive, which leaves no story to be told. Overall, if the novel did not include all three of these characters there would basically be nothing to read. Ideas and Themes
There were many big ideas and themes in this novel, but a few of them stand out. First, the theme of female power stands out, because of the character Katniss. She is a role model for all women, and is powerful, witty, and fearless. The main reason female power stands out is because of her, and how she puts other people’s lives in front of hers. For instance, in the book she says that she will protect Peeta even if it means her own death. Also, she is the face of the rebellion, and without her they would not be able to overthrow the Capitol. Lastly, people try to follow in her footsteps in the book, as well as women that feel empowered by her that are reading the book. Next, the idea of rebellion against big government, because this is what the whole book is based on. This idea applies to the book, because the goal of Katniss and her friends and family is to take down the Capitol. That is why not only is it a big idea, but it is the most important idea in the whole novel. Lastly, the theme of love is essential to the book, because there is a love triangle with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. This love triangle changes the course of the book, and affects the main character, Katniss, tremendously. Even some of her decisions are based around the idea of which she loves. Throughout the book though you do see that her love for Peeta increases, and since she believes she will never see Gale again she gives up on loving him anymore. Without these themes and big ideas in the novel the story would not be interesting whatsoever.
Major Conflict or Problem
There are many problems and conflicts in this novel, but one of them stands out. This is the conflict between the rebels and the Capitol. In the novel ever since Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games, rebellions have started and the Capitol has started to lose control of their people. Right before they go into the arena Peeta tells everyone that Katniss is pregnant, which sparks a huge uprising. Throughout the book rebellions are starting and slowly but surely almost half of the districts have started uprisings. For instance, when Katniss is in the woods she meets up with some runaways from a district that has had uprisings. They tell her that almost no one has survived, and that they were one of the few luck enough to get out. She then shows her a mockingjay and she realizes that this is the symbol of the rebellion. The mockingjay is significant, because this is the pin she wore on her shirt during the games. Also, it is, because in the Hunger Games she used the mockingjays to signal safety to her friend Rue, a young girl from District 11, who eventually was killed. This then started an uprising in District 11, and is the basis of the uprisings and rebellion now. Also, President Snow tells Katniss that if she fakes her love to Peeta enough to where even he believes it, there will be no consequences. If she does not though her family, friends and she will definitely receive consequences. She then figures out that he did not care about her love to Peeta, and he knew it would make no difference. Katniss believes that this was just to distract her and stop her from creating more uprisings and increasing the rage and numbers of the rebellion. This conflict is absolutely essential to the book and the novel would have no purpose if it were not present. Symbolic Image
The symbol of berries is greatly essential to the novel. The berries represent the beginning of the rebellion, and the one moment that Katniss regrets for the whole book. Even though she does not like the current ruler and government, she knows that she has caused the uprisings and rebellion, because of the berries, and is a target as well as her friends and family. Though she regrets the berries, she cannot control that she pulled them out at the end of the Games. She did this, because in the middle of the Games the Gamekeeper said that there could be two victors if they were from the same district but this was revoked shortly after they had become the only two left. The Gamekeeper did not want both of them to die because of the poisonous berries, so he unrevoked the law and they were the two victors. Overall the symbols of the berries are brought up throughout the novel and are an important aspect of it.
New or Unusual Words
There are many interesting new or unusual words in the novel, but there are a few that stand out. The first word is poaching and this was brought up on page 108 when the man says, “He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyway?” My definition of poaching is killing an animal illegally. The second word is tributes and this was brought up on page 198 when the author states “Eighteen tributes are killed in the bloodbath that first day.” My definition of tributes is an offering to something bigger than oneself. The third word is picturesque and this was brought up on page 199 when the author states, “Four days in, the picturesque mountain erupts into a volcano that wipes out another dozen players, including all but five of the Career pack. My definition of picturesque is beautiful or essentially perfect. The fourth word is unprecedented and this is brought up on page 259 when Haymitch states, “The whole situation is unprecedented.” My definition of unprecedented is unexpected or a surprise. The fifth word is trident and is brought up on page 269 when the author states “Finnick, glistening and gorgeous, stands a few yards away, with a trident poised to attack.” My definition of trident is a weapon that is linked to water and specifically Poseidon. Similar Existing Works
The novel is very unique and there is not really anything like it that has been created before, but it still does remind me of a couple of works. It is is somewhat similar to the Twilight series, because of the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Not only is it similar, because there is a love triangle present, but there are also similarities in the love triangle. For instance, Peeta is similar to the werewolf Jacob, because they love their girls. Also, Gale is similar to Edward, because they are loved back by their girls and it is shown throughout their respective novels. Lastly, Katniss is similar to Bella, because they are both trying to make a decision on which one they should love and stay with. I also see similarities between this and the movie Gladiator. This is simply, because in both people are put in an arena in a fight to the death. In Ancient Rome in the movie, they strictly used grown men named gladiators for this, but in Catching Fire they use young girls and boy between the ages of 12-18. Of course there are differences in the styles of the arenas and how you go about your business in the respective arenas, but it is extremely similar in the general idea of what you do in the arena. Those two works stand out the most, because of how similar they are to the novel, but besides those two works there are very few big similarities between Catching Fire and any other works.
Title, Author, Reason for Choosing the Book
For this quarter I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, because I had seen the movie The Hunger Games, and thought the sequel would be interesting to read.
Genre
This book fits under the genre of young adult fiction. This is, because the main audience is young adults and the book is about a different world then ours. This book also fits under the genre of a thriller, because it keeps you reading, and at no point of the book are you bored. Essentially this book keeps you on your toes. This could fall under the genre of science fiction, because some of this book is based around places and technologies that could be made in the future, but at this point are not. This may fall under the genre of futuristic, because they use many technologies that have not been present in the world yet. To some it could be in the genre of fiction, because for many readers you cannot pinpoint one genre, so people put it under a larger one. Next, this novel can be put under the genre of fantasy, because this is a world that does not exist, but the author makes this world up and you follow these characters through their adventures in this fantasy world. Lastly, this book can fall under the genre of mystery, because you do not know what will happen next, and there is a very mysterious part of the book.
Plot
The novel begins with Katniss on the tour, that all victors make after winning the Hunger Games, all around the world of Panem. The Games are where two children, one boy and one girl, from each district, twelve in total, are put into an arena to battle to the death. There is usually one winner but Katniss and Peeta did not want to kill one another because they loved each other. They then tried to kill themselves at the same time by eating poisonous berries, but right before that was about to happen the Gamekeeper said that they had won. Each year after the victor has won, in this case victors, they tour around the districts and even to the Capitol, where the inhabitants of each celebrate them. Katniss gets a visit by president Snow, an evil man trying to keep order in his world, and tells her that rebellions have started against the Capitol. He tells her that this is because her and Peeta are really not in love and some people are catching on. He tells her she has to sell it or else, there will be consequences and she accepts. She goes through the tour but it only causes more trouble. She tries to make up for it by marrying Peeta, but this is too little too late. President Snow says this has not worked and there will be uprisings and rebellions. She is sent home, and considers what she should do. She firsts decides that she should run away, but this is a stupid idea, she realizes, and there will be more consequences than rewards. He then thinks about a rebellion, but her district is too small. She gets advice about this from Peeta, Haymitch and Gale. Gale is in love with her and she was too, but is now trying to figure out who she loves, Peeta or Gale. She was faking her love for Peeta in the Games, but had really grown fond of him. She has loved Gale from the beginning and this love triangle develops throughout the novel. She then is watching television one night and sees that President Snow is on. He says that because of the Quarter Quell, this happens once every 25 years in the Games, victors will be chosen from each district to compete. She realizes that she is the only girl and that she is destined for the arena. Peeta volunteers to go with her and he does. While training they become fond of their competitors, and some of them are Haymitch’s, their mentor’s, friends. They decide though, that they will be an alliance by themselves. When she arrives in the arena she sees there is a beach and water around them, and all of the weapons are on the beach. The buzzer goes off, she swims, and gets there finding her weapon of choice, bow and arrows. She then spots Finnick, a winner a young man that used his charm, good looks, and trident, his weapon of choice, to win in the Games before. They make an alliance and meet up with Peeta, and an old lady rom Finnick’s district, Mags, who has a knack for making fishhooks. They then spot a fog of acid coming after them and they sprint but Mags is too much for Finnick to handle, because he is carrying Peeta too, so she commits suicide and runs into the acid. They then heal themselves with the salt water, which takes away the acid from your body, and set up camp on the beach. They then encounter Johanna, a young fearless woman, and Beetee and Wiress, an old women and an old man that have a knack for inventions. They team up, but are attacked by the Careers, usually a group of victors from districts 1, 2, and 4. Wiress dies but they kill two of the Careers. They set up a plan to use the electricity that will be transmitted through the tree at noon to shock the two remaining Careers and kill them. This does not work, because the wire has been cut and Katniss is injured. She is too close to where the electricity will hit so she raps around the wire, and shoots it at the force field so the electricity will shock it. What happens to the force field? Does Katniss survive and will she ever see Peeta again? Find out in the exciting novel Catching Fire.
Characters
There are three characters that stand out in this book and those are Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch. These three are the only three victors of District 12 and are popular throughout their world. First, Katniss is a fearless 17-year-old girl who stops at nothing to protect the ones she loves and bring down anyone in her way. She really symbolizes female power, and is a great example of what other women strive to be like. She is brave, clever, and has a hunting instinct like no other. An example of her bravery and fearlessness is on page 178 when she states “If it is Peeta and me in the Games, this time we try to keep him alive.” This shows that her bravery, because her priority is to save Peeta which would mean her own demise. She is the main character of this novel and is essential to the book. Next, Peeta is a strong and caring lover of Katniss. He is in love with her, but to keep both of them alive Katniss faked her love. He did not realize this until after the Games though, but despite that throughout the book he shows his love for Katniss. He is amazing with words and can persuade a crowd with no more than a sentence. His outstanding presence mixed with his word choice is an unbelievable combination that not many people in their world have. His of speaking is expressed by Katniss on page 338 “… He can move a crowd---no, a country---to his side with the turn of a simple sentence.” This was Katniss explaining why Peeta is so valuable, and his talent for speech shows up in the book in numerous instances in the book as well. He is Katniss’ lover, and his role is vital to the novel. Lastly, Haymitch is a drunk, wise, middle-aged man. He has experience that helps Katniss and Peeta throughout the book, but is mostly too drunk to express his wisdom. He himself went through the Games and won, but was the only one in District 12 that had won at the time. He is the mentor for the couple not only for the Games but in life as well. His wisdom shows on page 293 when Katniss states “A spile!” This is when she figures out what Haymitch has sent her and realizes that he would be the only one clever or wise enough to realize that this would be useful. This contraption is used for the extraction of water from trees and essentially saves their lives. If Haymitch did not know to give this to them they would have died of dehydration, which is why he was essential to Peeta and Katniss’ survival. Haymitch saved them many other times, and was not only vital to Peeta and Katniss, but the book in general. This is, because without him, the couple would not survive, which leaves no story to be told. Overall, if the novel did not include all three of these characters there would basically be nothing to read.
Ideas and Themes
There were many big ideas and themes in this novel, but a few of them stand out. First, the theme of female power stands out, because of the character Katniss. She is a role model for all women, and is powerful, witty, and fearless. The main reason female power stands out is because of her, and how she puts other people’s lives in front of hers. For instance, in the book she says that she will protect Peeta even if it means her own death. Also, she is the face of the rebellion, and without her they would not be able to overthrow the Capitol. Lastly, people try to follow in her footsteps in the book, as well as women that feel empowered by her that are reading the book. Next, the idea of rebellion against big government, because this is what the whole book is based on. This idea applies to the book, because the goal of Katniss and her friends and family is to take down the Capitol. That is why not only is it a big idea, but it is the most important idea in the whole novel. Lastly, the theme of love is essential to the book, because there is a love triangle with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. This love triangle changes the course of the book, and affects the main character, Katniss, tremendously. Even some of her decisions are based around the idea of which she loves. Throughout the book though you do see that her love for Peeta increases, and since she believes she will never see Gale again she gives up on loving him anymore. Without these themes and big ideas in the novel the story would not be interesting whatsoever.
Major Conflict or Problem
There are many problems and conflicts in this novel, but one of them stands out. This is the conflict between the rebels and the Capitol. In the novel ever since Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games, rebellions have started and the Capitol has started to lose control of their people. Right before they go into the arena Peeta tells everyone that Katniss is pregnant, which sparks a huge uprising. Throughout the book rebellions are starting and slowly but surely almost half of the districts have started uprisings. For instance, when Katniss is in the woods she meets up with some runaways from a district that has had uprisings. They tell her that almost no one has survived, and that they were one of the few luck enough to get out. She then shows her a mockingjay and she realizes that this is the symbol of the rebellion. The mockingjay is significant, because this is the pin she wore on her shirt during the games. Also, it is, because in the Hunger Games she used the mockingjays to signal safety to her friend Rue, a young girl from District 11, who eventually was killed. This then started an uprising in District 11, and is the basis of the uprisings and rebellion now. Also, President Snow tells Katniss that if she fakes her love to Peeta enough to where even he believes it, there will be no consequences. If she does not though her family, friends and she will definitely receive consequences. She then figures out that he did not care about her love to Peeta, and he knew it would make no difference. Katniss believes that this was just to distract her and stop her from creating more uprisings and increasing the rage and numbers of the rebellion. This conflict is absolutely essential to the book and the novel would have no purpose if it were not present.
Symbolic Image
The symbol of berries is greatly essential to the novel. The berries represent the beginning of the rebellion, and the one moment that Katniss regrets for the whole book. Even though she does not like the current ruler and government, she knows that she has caused the uprisings and rebellion, because of the berries, and is a target as well as her friends and family. Though she regrets the berries, she cannot control that she pulled them out at the end of the Games. She did this, because in the middle of the Games the Gamekeeper said that there could be two victors if they were from the same district but this was revoked shortly after they had become the only two left. The Gamekeeper did not want both of them to die because of the poisonous berries, so he unrevoked the law and they were the two victors. Overall the symbols of the berries are brought up throughout the novel and are an important aspect of it.
New or Unusual Words
There are many interesting new or unusual words in the novel, but there are a few that stand out. The first word is poaching and this was brought up on page 108 when the man says, “He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyway?” My definition of poaching is killing an animal illegally. The second word is tributes and this was brought up on page 198 when the author states “Eighteen tributes are killed in the bloodbath that first day.” My definition of tributes is an offering to something bigger than oneself. The third word is picturesque and this was brought up on page 199 when the author states, “Four days in, the picturesque mountain erupts into a volcano that wipes out another dozen players, including all but five of the Career pack. My definition of picturesque is beautiful or essentially perfect. The fourth word is unprecedented and this is brought up on page 259 when Haymitch states, “The whole situation is unprecedented.” My definition of unprecedented is unexpected or a surprise. The fifth word is trident and is brought up on page 269 when the author states “Finnick, glistening and gorgeous, stands a few yards away, with a trident poised to attack.” My definition of trident is a weapon that is linked to water and specifically Poseidon.
Similar Existing Works
The novel is very unique and there is not really anything like it that has been created before, but it still does remind me of a couple of works. It is is somewhat similar to the Twilight series, because of the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Not only is it similar, because there is a love triangle present, but there are also similarities in the love triangle. For instance, Peeta is similar to the werewolf Jacob, because they love their girls. Also, Gale is similar to Edward, because they are loved back by their girls and it is shown throughout their respective novels. Lastly, Katniss is similar to Bella, because they are both trying to make a decision on which one they should love and stay with. I also see similarities between this and the movie Gladiator. This is simply, because in both people are put in an arena in a fight to the death. In Ancient Rome in the movie, they strictly used grown men named gladiators for this, but in Catching Fire they use young girls and boy between the ages of 12-18. Of course there are differences in the styles of the arenas and how you go about your business in the respective arenas, but it is extremely similar in the general idea of what you do in the arena. Those two works stand out the most, because of how similar they are to the novel, but besides those two works there are very few big similarities between Catching Fire and any other works.
GoodReads Review
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/421790709
"Quarter 2 Book Project"